- by Tyler Walter, writing from Richmond, VA
Despite all the external competition, the Galaxy maintained the rhythm going through the MLS Cup Playoffs, where casual fans claim that teams actually decide to compete. Silencing all doubters, the team won at New York, rallied in LA to win the series, and routed Real Salt Lake to return to the final.
Their opponent, the Houston Dynamo, is taking the role of the underdog status, as well as by some playoff criticizers as the “fluke team”, which is a rather unusual posistion for the club. The Dynamo, though only five years old, have reached their third MLS Cup championship, and their first since 2007, back when the Revolution were relevant and D.C. United were the posistion the Galaxy now occupy. The Dynamo also has a perfect 2–0 record in the championship.
While there is a far lesser degree of out-lash for the Dynamo making the final, it is likely because of Houston’s rich MLS Cup history. That makes sense, but the criticism is very justified. After all, Houston had a far easier route to the final, and their win against Kansas City was likely flirting with the word fluke, but the point being is they won their matches and did enough to make the final. The fact they scrapped the bare minimum is likely the cause for people accusing them of being a fluke team.
Still, the match will likely be a gritty, sludgy, low-scoring affair; but every aspect of the match falls into LA’s favor. Especially with the absence of Houston’s Brad Davis. The Galaxy have extreme depth in every posistion on the field, while Houston, does not have quite the same depth, but their ability to counterattack might pose a real threat to even LA’s backline, which allowed the fewest goals in history.
Ellen had so much fun with hidden cameras and David Beckham, she did it again! This time she sent David to Target to pose as an employee, spraying people with his new fragrance. What happened next... you'll have to see to believe.
- by Andrew McCarten, writing from Miami, FL via. Ireland
The substitution took place in the 32nd minute of the match, and Balotelli exchanged words with Roberto Mancini before taking his place on the bench, and failing to come back out after the first half. Balotelli has never been far from the spotlight and criticism, and given his past, it would seems his reputation is almost beyond repair even at such a young age, with this another mark on his record. Because, to many, an attempted back-heel in a pre-season friendly might be seen as immature, at the most.
If fellow City team mates Edin Dzeko or Shaun Wright-Phillips would have attempted it, it would likely not have been anywhere near as covered and condemned as it has been. In fact, what would the reaction be if Lionel Messi attempted it, or another Barcelona player? Would he be praised for his creativity and love of the game, with the same old cliches bandied about regarding the “Barcelona way,” La Masia, “mas que un club,” total football, etc? Even with the attempt ending up off-target like Balotelli’s, the little Argentine would likely be praised and saluted for his unique skill and artistic license with the ball, rather than having questions about his professionalism and maturity raised; a model for the youth to enjoy football and play beautiful. So why is Balotelli judged so much more harshly?
This is not to in any way defending Mario Balotelli for previous actions, or to make a definitive statement on his personal character and his flaws or lack thereof. Rather, football fans should take this most recent “incident” and put it more into a rational, unbiased perspective. With no preconceived notions of the player, the action in itself is barely noteworthy, certainly not front page news on the world’s major football media tabloids and websites. But it seems Balotelli, rightly or wrongly, has been labelled the ever-troublesome problem child yet again.
LA Galaxy vs Manchester City
Headline: Saunders defeats the Sounders. Overall, the Galaxy played well. They were able to control the game and most importantly scored a goal. The Sounders on the other hand put on a clinic.....of poor finishing. They easily could have tied the game. Then again LA could have easily had a 2-0 victory if Landon's shot didn't hit the crossbar. LA goalkeeper Josh Saunders is my Man of the Match.
It is finally here, the first game of the 2011 MLS Season. Its sure to be a sell-out at Qwest Field as the Seattle Sounders host the Los Angeles Galaxy. LA will be without the services of Rickets and Juan Pablo Angel, who are out with injuries.
What is your prediction on tonights game? Will the Sounders feed off the energy of the crowd, and start the season with a victory? Will the LA Galaxy repeat their Conference Semifinals performance and defeat the Sounders?
Cast your vote in our poll, and leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Kickoff is at 9:30pm EST.
- by Angel Soto, writing from Cali
My Fan History
As a Southern California resident, many would think that I would follow either Chivas USA or the Los Angeles Galaxy. But I choose not to follow one or the other, more so because as a child I looked up to the legendary Brian McBride and he, at the time, was playing for the Crew. From then on I would cheer for the Crew behind my family's back as I didn't want to disappoint them(as most of them are Galaxy supporters). But through the years I started to show my true colors gradually, and from the start of the year 2007 I had decided that my fake galaxy "support" had to be done with. After this game, even after a loss, I decided to put 100% of my patronage towards the Columbus Crew!
- by Joe Curtis, writing from Miami
Major League Soccer is structured so that the league has total control of every team. Operating as a single entity is a survival strategy that keeps the struggling league running by distributing revenue evenly. This also means that the league, and not the individual team, own a player’s contract. This brings us to our first obstacle on our journey to success: the Designated Player rule. The 2010 version of the rule allows teams to sign two players that would be considered outside the Salary Cap and give the option to pay a “luxury tax” of $250,000 to sign a third. 2007 was supposed to be the turning point of American Soccer when David Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy.
This was not the first time a superstar signed to play in the States, Pele signed with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League in 1975. Regarded as “The Greatest Player of All Time”, not even he succeeded in making soccer a major sport in the United States. This summer saw the signings of international superstars Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez by the New York Red Bulls. It is going to take multiple big names to draw big crowds, which is something that we are more then capable of accomplishing. MLS needs to eventually restructure itself in order to allow teams to have greater control over operations, and give teams the ability to pursue talent. Luxury Taxes can stay in place in order to keep teams unable to acquire the top players on a somewhat even playing field. If the MLS makes this change not only will revenue increase, but it will also increase the level of competition in the league giving American players the opportunity to gain valuable experience at home. As competition increases so does the likelihood that American players will be better prepared for the International Level, as well as keep soccer prodigies like Giuseppe Rossi from deciding that they would rather represent another country.
The level of competition leads us the last obstacle Major League Soccer should address: How the League Champion is crowned. If this is restructured to mimic that of European leagues, Soccer could arguably appeal to Americans more than any other major sport. As I stated earlier winning is everything in the US, at the end of the season people want an undisputed champion holding the trophy. This is not always the case because in play-off format leagues “upsets” take place. Adopting the European league structure results in an undisputed champion. In addition this league structure also relegates the bottom three teams to the second tier and promotes the top three of the second tier to the first tier. Promotion and relegation once again increases the competition level, forcing teams to fight for their place in Major League Soccer. Promotions also add a special factor that appeals to all sports fans: The Cinderella Story. Cinderella teams appeal to Americans because they symbolize the American dream of achieving success through hard work and determination.
Making these major changes to the structure of the league could catapult Major League Soccer into the hearts of US sports fans. Analyzing what the majority of Americans expect from a sport would imply that this is exactly what needs to be done in order to have success. Americans caught a glimpse of why the world calls soccer “The Beautiful Game” and are giving the sport a second look. The time to grow is now, and like any other business looking to expand the first step is adapting to the needs of their audience or customer. The funny thing is, every other league in the world is already doing it.
this article was also featured on afootballreport.com